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Neo-Liberal Party (NLP)
|Ideology = Right-Libertarianism Conservatism Libertarianism Classical Liberalism National Liberalism Anarcho-Capitalism|Political position = Center-Right (Moderates) Right (Conservatives) Far-Right (Nationalists and Libertarians)|Affiliation = Anti-Communist League Right-Wing Brotherhood|Colour = Yellow|Seats1 Title = Parliament|Seats1 = |Seats2 Title = Cabinet|Seats2 = |Seats3 Title = Governorships|Seats3 = |Website = Website|politics = Politics in Gaduridos|political parties = Political Parties in Gaduridos|elections = Elections in Gaduridos|party_logo = }} The Neo-Liberal Party, commonly referred to as the NLP, is a right-wing party in the Federal Union of Gaduridos. The NLP was founded by Lon Zola in 4129, and has since pushed for the reduction of the size of the Gaduridan government. The party supports privatization, as well as a general reduction in taxes and regulation. The NLP is currently the largest party in Gaduridos, and is part of the right-wing coalition that has ruled the nation since 4146. The NLP Congressional Leader, Adrian Tam, is also the Prime Minister of Gaduridos, and has held the post since 4142. Party History Founding The NLP was founded in 4129 by Lon Zola, the former Mayor of Gadur. Lon Zola had served as Mayor for 8 years, between May, 4121 and May, 4129, as an independent - one of the few independents to ever win the mayorship of the capital. Wanting to continue her career in politics, she attempted to run for the position of Governor of Marligantos. However, without the support of a national party, she was not able to get on the ballot. Not being able to find a party that she could support, she founded the NLP in Gadur on August 17, 4129. With only a small fourth-floor office in downtown Gadur and 50,000GAD to her name, Zola set out to campaign for the next election. Early Years (4129-4133) The NLP first made national headlines in November 4129, with its Charter Schools proposal. During the time, charter schools were illegal, and the national curriculum was strictly enforced in all schools. The proposal called for the legalization of non-profit charter schools, as well as a giving private schools a partial exemption from the national curriculum. While this bill didn't ultimately pass, it gave the NLP its first taste of national attention, as well as the support of the Social Conservative Party (SCP). The NLP then once again made national headlines a mere two months later with a proposal to increase the retirement age from 60 to 65. While this again didn't pass due to the absence of the Classical Liberal Party (CLP), it gave even more attention to the young party. Facing increased national attention, as well as increased popularity, the first of the annual NLP conferences was held on August 14, 4130, with 80 people in attendance. Although the NLP did not gain any seats in the May, 4132 elections, the NLP would be able to once again gain national attention due to its cooperation with the SCP (who had gained an absolute majority) on proposals such as the extension of the retirement age and the privatization of the healthcare and defense industries. However, the NLP was not able to push all of its proposals through - most controversially, the NLP was not able to end the minimum wage. All of this led to dramatically increased popularity - by 4133, the NLP was in effect a major political party - NLP rallies across the country were drawing crowds in the tens of thousands, NLP membership surged to 800,000, culminating in a record shattering attendance of 110,000 in the NLP conference. In October, 4133, early elections were called for by Congress, scheduled for January, 4134. Riding a recent surge of popularity, the Zola declared her candidacy for President of the Republic on October 21, 4143. For the first time, the NLP was able to gain ballot access in all 5 states, along with having a full set of congressional candidates in each state. Pre-People's Front Period (4134-4137) In the January, 4134 elections, the NLP was not only able to gain 40/201 seats (~20% of congress), but had its presidential candidate, Lon Zola, make it to the second round, only narrowly loosing to Juan Carlos Monedero of the Radical Democratic Party (RDP). This election result propelled the NLP to the front of Gaduridan politics, as it became the second largest party, behind the CLP. A right-wing ruling coalition consisting of CLP, NLP, and SCP was quickly formed. However, relations between the NLP and SCP were strained at first due to the former's support for the total repeal of the Common Decency Act, which the NLP viewed to be a dangerous enlargement of government power. These tensions would not last however, and the coalition would go on to enact pension and working hour reforms. During this time, the popularity of all parties in the right-wing coalition started to wane, primarily due to the sudden return of the People's Front (PF), a populist left-wing party. The NLP was no different, and so membership growth slowed down dramatically as the PF started taking headlines. Turmoil, and the People's Front (4138-4141) In the aftermath of the disastrous 4138 elections, where the left-wing coaltion, led by the People's Front were able to secure a supermajority, the NLP was thrown into disarray. Blamed for the poor performance, inner-party approval ratings of Lon Zola plummeted, from the high 60's in December, 4137 to 53% by March, 4138. With the shock of this defeat, factions within the party opposing the establishment began to form and gained momentum, further pushing down Zola's approval rating to 45% by July. With a rapidly dropping approval rating and only a year to go before the NLP Chairman election, Zola began to fear for her role as leader of the party. Her fears were founded - on August 23, 4138, Adrian Tam, the NLP Congressional leader, and former Governor of Marligantos, declared his candidacy for Chairman. Speaking to a massive crowd in downtown Tansaal, South Vintalli, Tam slammed Zola for being too extreme, claiming that it was her support for the end of collective bargaining that led to this loss. Tam's message for compromise and moderation struck a chord with voters disillusioned with Zola, eventually leading to the creation of the Moderate arm of the party. Things got worse for Zola when on September 13, 4138, Tom Scott, a far-right activist and head of the Citizens for Responsible Government organization, held a rally in the University of Gadur, slamming both Tam and Zola for being insufficiently committed to establishing a small, accountable government, seemingly positioning himself for a run for Chairman. The 4589 Revival: Refounding: Refounded by influential and disgruntled Conservative politicians, with aid from influential members of the Tam Family, whom have served as the backbone of the NLP's financial and social capital since the party's founding. With an internal election scheduled for after the 4592 elections, the NLP Board, a 42-member council of NLP politicians and activists, took temporary control of the party. The party also came under the de facto control of Alavaro Tam, who had helped reconnect the influential Tam Family with the newest members of the NLP Board. Alavaro Tam, however, was not the official party Chairman - that seat would remain vacant until after the 4592 national election. Rebuilding (4589-4592): Though the party was refounded during a period of left-wing governance, the left-wing government of the time was also in crisis, unable to form a cabinet after the resignation of a left-wing SPP Prime Minister. The NLP, under the joint leadership of Alavaro Tam and the members of the NLP Board, decided to make their reentry into Gaduri politics known through a series of both official and unofficial methods. Seeking to reintegrate the NLP into the Gaduri political system as fast as possible, the following approaches were used: Legislation: The NLP Board was put in charge of creating a large amount of legislation, touching many different aspects of Gaduri life, to the newly-renamed Parliament of the Federal Union. This was an attempt to not only get the attention of the voters across the Federal Union regarding the legislative agenda of the party, but also to allow the NLP Board to better understand the current political climate of the Parliament. Due to the fact that the NLP held no seats, as well as the fact that the right-bloc was in the opposition, meaning that NLP bills would require at least some leftist support. While almost all of the privatization bills failed in Parliament due to the leftist-bloc blocking all such legislation, some legislation regarding increased degrees of civil rights, as well as of technological progress, were passed with leftist support, particularly from the SOL. This flood of legislation led to the NLP, despite holding no seats, becoming the party that proposed the most legislation in the 4588-4592 Parliamentary Session. Party Alliances: This effort was headed by Alavaro Tam, with the goal of establishing political alliances with different parties, whether that be in general (as in coalition terms), or on specific issues (regarding specific bills). Tam also attempted to recreate a conservative voting bloc for the Presidential elections, as well as meeting leaders of other parties in an effort to gain more widespread support. Tam first went to the SCP, and, against the advice of the NLP Board, offered to endorse the SCP-candidate Alfonso Lenetti in both rounds of his Presidential run. The correspondence between the SCP and the NLP was extremely friendly, as the two parties had been allies since the inception of the NLP. Since the 4588 election Presidential run-off (2nd round) had seen a competition between the Leftist Unity Party (LUP) and the Super Progressive Party (SPP/PSP), Tam created this electoral alliance in an attempt to get a conservative candidate to at least the Presidential run-off contest. Tam then contacted the Gaduridos Freedom Party(GFP), who, after some negotiations, became willing to form a coalition with the NLP after the next election. Tam also attempted to convince the GFP to endorse the SCP candidate for both rounds of the Presidential election - the negotiations between the two parties led to the GFP agreeing to endorse the SCP candidate in the second round. The NLP was also able to find an unlikely ally in the leftist Worker's Party (SOL), regarding changes in technology, methods of energy generation, in numerous social issues, such as euthanasia, as well as in the realm of employment - particularly regarding the possibility for those still in school to enter protected employment in the marketplace. The NLP also supported numerous SOL bills, that saw major opposition from the other parties, both right and left. The cooperation with the SOL culminated in a meeting between Olmos Nava, the head of the SOL, and Alavaro Tam. The meeting focused on the ideals of mutual cooperation, as well as mutual respect, and was generally seen by both parties to be a positive development. Media: The widely circulated Gadur Times, while not owned directly by the NLP, is owned by the Tam Family. The paper is generally divided into the news-portion, which is fairly objective, fact-based reporting, and the opinion section, which is generally biased in favor of the right-wing. The paper itself has also been accused of slanting slightly to the right, and of over-focusing on NLP activities. The Gadur Times acts as the main news media arm of the NLP, and was used to report on many of the party's activities - particularly its activities regarding other parties. The Gadur Times generally portrayed the NLP, and Alavaro Tam in particular, as a dynamic party. The paper was also given a large number of exclusive interviews and press passes to NLP figures and events. = The 4592 Election Campaign: Much of the Parliamentary session of 4588-4592 was plagued by government inefficiency. Due to the resignation of the prior SPP/PSP Prime Minister as well as the inability for the left-bloc, consisting of the SOL, SPP/PSP, and the LUP to form a cabinet, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the government. The 3 main leftist parties would eventually create a cabinet during the closing months of the Parliamentary session, but in the court of public opinion, the damage had already been done. Though the leftist-bloc nearly held a supermajority in this Parliamentary session, by the beginning of the 4592 campaign, pollsters predicted that the leftist majority would be reduced to only +10 seats over the conservative bloc. The NLP decided to honor its pledge with the SCP, and campaigned for the Presidency of Alfonso Lenetti from the beginning of the campaign. The NLP efforts, however, were more focused on gaining seats in the Parliament, with Alavaro Tam becoming the figurehead of the campaign. Due to his prominent role in the campaign, political pundits began to tie the election of Alavaro Tam as Chairman of the NLP in the internal elections to what he would be able to achieve in the national elections. The NLP released their manifesto with traditional conservative message points, as well as a promise to attempt to pass legislation supported by both sides of the political aisle. The NLP campaign pointed to their success with the SOL and LUP bills regarding social and technological issues, while also reminding the electorate that the NLP was the most pro-business and pro-free market party in the nation. The NLP was also, crucially, the first party to place a pledge in their manifesto to create a functioning government, calling for stability by pushing for the creation of a cabinet as soon as the elections were over. Focusing on the issue of a non-functional government, the NLP released a series of fiery articles and made a series of fiery speeches, condemning the largest left-wing party, the SPP/PSP, for failing to form a government for the majority of the Parliamentary session. Terming the SPP/PSP as a "do-nothing party", the campaign focused on the pivotal issue of the SPP failing to create a cabinet, despite a left-wing supermajority being present in Parliament. This focus on the non-functional government appeared to have worked, as by the time election day arrived, even the pollsters' expectations were beaten, as the Parliament swung in the conservative direction, with a 126-124 distribution of seats, meaning a majority of 2 seats for the conservative bloc. The NLP became the largest party, gaining over a quarter of the vote, and 65 of the seats in Parliament. This was hailed as a great victory for the NLP, and led to all internal opponents of Alavaro Tam withdrawing from the leadership contest - Alavaro Tam ended up winning an uncontested leadership ballot, and took the place of Parliamentary Leader. The Razor-Thin Majority (4592-4596) Though the conservative bloc had won the general elections, it had only done so barely - with a margin of 126-124, the conservative bloc held a majority of only 2 seats in Parliament. Most notable in the 4592 elections was the complete collapse of the SCP and SPP, the two parties which had been dominant for much of the 46th century. The SCP lost 20 seats and fell to last place holding only 27 seats, while the mainline leftist party, the SPP, lost 27 seats ending up with 2nd last place with only 28 seats, one more than their traditional rivals in the SCP. Meanwhile, the NLP secured 65 seats for the greatest gains of the night. This reversed the previously poor fortunes of the conservative bloc, which had been stuck in opposition since the Gaduri Civil War. Cabinet: Using this overwhelming victory, the NLP proposed a cabinet in which the party would take 6 of the 13 positions, along with the Prime Ministership, with 4 positions going to the GFP, and 3 to the SCP. Thus, the Alavaro Tam not only became Chairman of the NLP, but Prime Minister of the Federal Union. This unprecedented victory led to the NLP beginning a series of legislative reforms. The Defense and Healthcare industries were privatized, and many conservative reforms were also passed. Achievements: Ultimately, this term of the Prime Ministership passed quite quietly - while the expected conservative reforms and decentralization reforms took place, there was little crisis. The most consequential act of the Tam administration was that of the Defense Funding Bill of 4592, which saw the Defense budget increase by nearly 50%, from 700,000,000,000GAD to 1,000,000,000,000GAD, making Defense overwhelmingly the largest expenditure of the government, much to the disapproval of the leftist coalition. The 4596 Campaign: Believing the NLP Parliamentary position to be secure, the NLP redoubled their efforts in pushing for a Presidential victory for the conservative bloc. Once again endorsing Afonso Lenetti of the SCP, the Prime Minister toured the country with the Presidential hopeful in an effort to get him into office. Pushing the idea of the NLP-SCP alliance, Tam hoped to get as many of the NLP voters who stayed home - estimated to be around 10 million per the 4592 election - to come out and vote in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the Presidential Election for the SCP. Polls indicated that the SCP was viewed favorably by the NLP electorate following this tour. Leader of the Opposition, Part I (4596-4600) 4596 Election: The efforts by Prime Minister Alavaro Tam yielded fruit when the SCP candidate, with NLP backing, narrowly beat Hollade Didez of the LUP in the first round of the elections. The victory margin was extremely tight, with both Lenetti and Didez securing over 17 million votes in the first round. Ultimately, by 582,735 votes, or 0.91% of the total vote, Lenetti was able to proclaim victory in the first round of the elections. No other candidate broke the 10 million vote mark. Many political pundits would later attribute the performance of Lenetti to the NLP, rather than the SCP, claiming that Lenetti "rode the coattails of the NLP". In the 2nd Round of the Presidential Elections, the NLP endorsement was joined by the GFP, leading to President Lenetti cruising to a comfortable victory of some 4 million votes. The situation in the legislature, however, was not as good for the conservative bloc - the LUP gained unexpected momentum, and gained the position of first place. Meanwhile, the NLP lost 10 seats across the nation, many to left-wing challengers in very close contests. This election also saw a partial revival of the traditional parties, with the SCP gaining 5 seats to end with 32 seats in Parliament, while the SPP gained 7 and ended up with 35 seats. The electoral math once again shifted back to the leftist coalition, as they held a 10 seat majority over the conservatives, with the Parliament having the composition 130-120. Notably, Ortega Conde, a close political ally to Tam, lost his seat in Parliament, though he remained powerful within the party. Collaboration with the Left: Many of the social issues that the NLP had attempted to pass in the prior decade were stymied by conservative and SPP resistance. With the LUP ascendant, however, the combined power of the largest and second largest parties allowed for many technology-focused bills to be passed with LUP and SOL support. The Lenetti Scandal, and Kazulia: During this period, Kazulia fell into a military autocracy, which instituted slavery. As the parties consisting of both the left and right of Gaduri politics called for sanctions and even possible military action against the nation of Kazulia, particularly due to the institution of slavery in the nation, President Lenetti kept silent. When he finally spoke, the fractures between the traditionally militarist NLP and the newly isolationist SCP began to show - Ortega Conde, close ally of the Former Prime Minister, was chosen to be the NLP candidate for the Presidency. Lenetti used this opportunity to lash out at the NLP, stating that the party "had doomed conservatism". Conde fired back, slamming Lenetti for his actions in disrupting the conservative coalition, and calling upon him to resign. This started a social media campaign in the NLP, including a petition of over 400,000 NLP members, presented by Courtney Young, calling on the President to resign. With the insult to the party, NLP Leader Alavaro Tam saw little choice but to switch the party's Presidential endorsement to the GFP candidate. Factions There are 4 main factions in the NLP. Conservatives: This arm of the party was founded by Lon Zola (who was also founder of the party), and is generally regarded as the establishment of the party. This arm is primarily known for its stance on economic issues, particularly those of lowering taxes, promoting free trade, and busting unions. The conservatives primarily consist of the middle and middle-high class married, preforming particularly well in the suburbs. Throughout the NLP's history, the conservatives have always been the strongest faction, even during the tumultuous years between 4138-4141. Moderates: This arm of the party was founded by Adrian Tam, the NLP Congressional leader, in the aftermath of the 4138 national elections, and is generally regarded as the opposition arm of the party. The moderates are primarily known for their insistence on compromise with other parties, and generally favor more centrist policies than the rest of the party. The moderates primarily consist of the working and middle class NLP members, performing particularly well in urban areas. While the moderates have at times been able to mount significant opposition to the conservatives, shifting their policies more to the center, they have never been able to take control of the party. Nationalists: This arm of the party was founded by Vincent Cairo, the former Minister of Defense, after his loss in the August, 4139 Chairman elections. The Nationalists are generally considered a splinter of the Conservatives, advocating for a more aggressive and interventionist foreign policy, as well as an increased defense budget. The nationalists primarily consist of the NLP's rural voters. Today, the nationalists generally ally and vote with the Conservatives, particularly given the more militant stance the Conservatives have pushed since the splinter. Libertarians: This arm of the party was founded by Tom Scott, head of the Citizens for Responsible Government think-tank, in the aftermath of a series of nationalization policies in 4138. The libertarians are also generally considered a splinter of the conservatives, and are known to be the far-right of the party, advocating for a dramatic reduction in government, taxes, and centralization. The libertarians primarily consist of the younger members of the NLP, with up to 50% of NLP members between 16-24 identifying themselves as supporters. Today, the libertarians generally ally and vote with the conservatives, and attempt to push their more extreme message through them. Party Structure There are two branches of the NLP - the executive branch, and the Congressional branch. Executive Branch This branch consists of the mainline NLP leadership. Headed by the Chairman of the NLP, who is elected by popular vote by NLP members, this branch makes all the major decisions within the party, drafts the presidential platform, and proposes the NLP cabinet candidates. Due to being directly elected by popular vote, this branch is generally more populist than the Congressional branch. Congressional Branch: This branch consists of the NLP Congressmen. Headed by the Congressional Leader of the NLP, who is elected by NLP Congressmen, this branch makes all the NLP decisions within Congress, and approves the NLP cabinet candidates. Chairman Elections Chairman Election - August, 4139: Chairman Election - August, 4149: Chairman Election - August, 4154: Chairman Election - August, 4164: Chairman Election - December, 4592: Chairman Election - December, 4602: Congressional Leader Elections Congressional Leader Election - August, 4158: Other Elections Motion to Dismiss, 4602: Citizens for Responsible Government, 4602: Category:Gaduridos Category:Political parties in Gaduridos Category:Politics of Gaduridos Category:Conservative political parties Category:Classical Liberal political parties